On the Role of Government
It's been a while since the last time I posted, and a lot has happened that was worthy of a post. The number of things I never thought would be acceptable in politics but now seem to happen on a daily basis is mind-boggling, and worse, they have a numbing effect. My biggest fear is how we're dropping our bar as a nation and getting used to this new "junior high" governing style. So I took time off from the blog, as I often do when I feel myself falling into a more tribal state. Now here I am again to extend a hand to anyone willing to read with an open mind, and since there are many people more qualified than I am to dissect the pros and cons of legislation, I will not focus on that. What I want to write about is something that doesn't require you to be a scholar or an expert and that is human decency, ethics, leadership and all the ancient bits that are at the heart of politics. Let's call this Politics 101.
I actually hold politics in high regard and consider it one of the greatest human inventions. To me, politics represent the human capacity to organize and self-govern as a community. The reason why this is so admirable is that government (and I'm excluding any government attained by means other than the will of its citizens) requires compromise between the individual and the collective, and it breaks away from the idea that humans are absolutely selfish creatures and incapable of caring for one another. This idea of caring for one another is the basis of a civilized society, and it is important because without it government can't fulfill the function of caring for all citizens. I believe the government should care for all citizens because otherwise it becomes a weapon for the institution and perpetuation of a ruling class. Let's think about this carefully. Those who are powerful have an advantage over those who aren't as powerful. Without a government that cares for all, it would be easy for those who are more powerful to impose their rule on the rest. I call this social hierarchy a pyramid because the dynamics of power tend to result in concentrated power in the hands of a few. This is also known as an oligarchy, which is itself a form of government. In this kind of organization, the governed body has no protection from the powerful unless these protections are guaranteed through some means. In our modern society, this is achieved through the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and sometimes legislation (such as regulations). A government has no purpose if it only serves to cement and protect a hierarchy that already holds all the power, because it makes no difference in such a society, and such an order would continue to exist without it. As such, it becomes a weapon of tyranny. The essence and purpose of government is therefore to care for all members of the community and avoid this unilateral concentration of power.
To summarize, the government can only safeguard from tyranny if it protects all of its citizens and not only the powerful. The fact that our founding fathers made sure that our government was founded on such principles and yet failed to include slaves in these protections is proof of why it is necessary that such protections are not up for debate but must be guaranteed for all. The crimes committed against African slaves must remain an eternal lesson on the fallibility of law and government that doesn't fulfill its purpose. The crimes committed against African slaves are no less egregious because of the customs of the time when they happened or the ignorance and prejudice of the perpetrators. For the victims, such empty rationalizations have no lessening effect on their suffering, and it certainly doesn't diminish the gravity of the crimes sanctioned by the community and the government. We have these historical lessons to learn from and to ensure that such crimes are no longer committed and yet we fail over and over to learn from them. A government that doesn't care for all members of the community fails its own purpose. Some may think that the purpose of government is not to care for all members of the community but to serve as a shield for the oligarchy. This means to allow the powerful to exercise their power and protect such a society from external forces. This is usually branded in the form of "freedom," but such an idea of freedom does not apply to the majority who will be subjected to the will of a few. This toothless government amounts to nothing but an army against outsiders, and soon enough against anyone deemed a threat from within.
I actually hold politics in high regard and consider it one of the greatest human inventions. To me, politics represent the human capacity to organize and self-govern as a community. The reason why this is so admirable is that government (and I'm excluding any government attained by means other than the will of its citizens) requires compromise between the individual and the collective, and it breaks away from the idea that humans are absolutely selfish creatures and incapable of caring for one another. This idea of caring for one another is the basis of a civilized society, and it is important because without it government can't fulfill the function of caring for all citizens. I believe the government should care for all citizens because otherwise it becomes a weapon for the institution and perpetuation of a ruling class. Let's think about this carefully. Those who are powerful have an advantage over those who aren't as powerful. Without a government that cares for all, it would be easy for those who are more powerful to impose their rule on the rest. I call this social hierarchy a pyramid because the dynamics of power tend to result in concentrated power in the hands of a few. This is also known as an oligarchy, which is itself a form of government. In this kind of organization, the governed body has no protection from the powerful unless these protections are guaranteed through some means. In our modern society, this is achieved through the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and sometimes legislation (such as regulations). A government has no purpose if it only serves to cement and protect a hierarchy that already holds all the power, because it makes no difference in such a society, and such an order would continue to exist without it. As such, it becomes a weapon of tyranny. The essence and purpose of government is therefore to care for all members of the community and avoid this unilateral concentration of power.
To summarize, the government can only safeguard from tyranny if it protects all of its citizens and not only the powerful. The fact that our founding fathers made sure that our government was founded on such principles and yet failed to include slaves in these protections is proof of why it is necessary that such protections are not up for debate but must be guaranteed for all. The crimes committed against African slaves must remain an eternal lesson on the fallibility of law and government that doesn't fulfill its purpose. The crimes committed against African slaves are no less egregious because of the customs of the time when they happened or the ignorance and prejudice of the perpetrators. For the victims, such empty rationalizations have no lessening effect on their suffering, and it certainly doesn't diminish the gravity of the crimes sanctioned by the community and the government. We have these historical lessons to learn from and to ensure that such crimes are no longer committed and yet we fail over and over to learn from them. A government that doesn't care for all members of the community fails its own purpose. Some may think that the purpose of government is not to care for all members of the community but to serve as a shield for the oligarchy. This means to allow the powerful to exercise their power and protect such a society from external forces. This is usually branded in the form of "freedom," but such an idea of freedom does not apply to the majority who will be subjected to the will of a few. This toothless government amounts to nothing but an army against outsiders, and soon enough against anyone deemed a threat from within.
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